The team at CleanAmmoCans.com is excited to announce the addition of new USGI 4-Pocket bandoliers to our product line-up. With the addition of the bandoliers and cardboard sleeves, we now offer all the components required to pack your own ammo to original military specification. Combine an ammo can, a pack of stripper clips and a bandolier kit for a complete DIY military re-pack. Each 5.56 4-Pocket bandolier will include the matching 5.56 cardboard silencer inserts. Read on to learn more about the advantages of packing ammo according to military specification!

Unless you a veteran, you have likely never had the experience of opening a fresh can of military 5.56 ammunition that is packed for combat. Every time I open one of these cans I get some sort of perverse enjoyment that I can’t really explain as I pull the loaded bandoliers out of the can. This packaging system is not only cool, it is ideal for that can of 5.56 ammo you have tucked away in the basement, closet or garage for SHTF. Should you ever need that ammo you have been saving for a rainy day, military spec ammo packaging arranges it in a manner that will allow you to actually put it to action.

The military has designed their ammo packaging system to streamline the loading, distribution, transport and use of ammunition in tactical situations. The main components of the military ammunition system are the ammo can, stripper clips and bandoliers. It is ammo packed to specification with these basic items that is stocked in the US military armories throughout the world for combat use. Due to the expense and complexity of packaging ammo in this manner, this system is rarely available as a complete package for consumer applications, nor would many want to pay full price for it! Since we are including new condition surplus components, we are able to offer these same USGI items to our customers in an affordable package that would otherwise be much more costly if using new production components.

So what is the military packaging system you ask? Military M855/M855A1 62grn 5.56 ammunition ships from the factory with 840 rounds per M2A1 ammo can, with two M2A1 ammo cans in a single wire-bound, wood ammunition crate. Inside each can, the 62gr 5.56 ammo is loaded on 10rd stripper clips which allows the standard 30 round M4/M16 magazines to be filled in three easy motions rather than 30 individual motions which would be necessary with loose rounds. The 84 individual 10 round stripper clips are packed into seven, 120 round, four pocket cloth bandoliers that allow the ammunition to be easily divided into individual loadouts and distributed.

Each of the four bandolier pockets holds three, 10 round stripper clips to fill a single M4/M16 magazine. Inside each pocket is a cardboard silencer insert that keeps the stripper clips contained together in the pocket. Each bandolier also includes a metal stripper clip guide that allows the stripper clipped ammo to be loaded into the magazine, and a multi-purpose safety pin.

You may ask, “What is the safety pin on the bandolier used for you?” There is actually much debate about what the safety pin is for, but according to the ammo manufacturer, it is officially included in the kit to adjust the length of the bandolier strap/pouches for a better fit when wearing the bandolier. Another common use for the safety pin is securing the stripper clip guide to the bandolier or another piece of kit so it is not lost in the field. Without the stripper clip guide, the ammo cannot be loaded from the stripper clip into the magazine so it is important to ensure it is not lost.

The second most common question regarding bandoliers is, “what is the white stitching on the bandolier for?” Often, one of the first observations many people have when looking at a military spec bandolier for the first time is the apparent excess material included below the white thread. Rather than a sloppy manufacturing process with loose specs creating a gross waste of material, it is actually another of the important utilitarian features of the military bandolier. Once the 30 rounds of 5.56 ammo are removed from the bandolier pocket and loaded into the magazine, the bandolier pocket is designed to house the now fully loaded magazine. The white thread on the bandolier is designed to be ripped out to expand the size of the bandolier pocket. Once the white string is pulled out, each pocket of the bandolier is the correct length to house a full 30 round M4 or M16 magazine loaded with the three 10rd stripper clips of ammo that were originally included in the pocket.

We are happy to announce, that with the addition of our bandolier kits, we are now your one-stop ammunition re-pack headquarters! All of the components we provide are new quality surplus items that have never been issued, are available for a fraction of the price of new, and are superior in quality to the second-hand military components commonly offered by our competitors. Get your ammo packaged in a manner that actually allows you to use it if you need it! Happy loading.